Okinawa Kenpo KobudoKobudo
is the name used to refer to the ancient weapon arts of Okinawa and
Japan. Although Kobudo and Karate are separate arts, the two
are very closely related and many karate schools teach the use of
weapons. In fact, Okinawan Kobudo survives mainly
through its practice in karate schools like DeValentino Shudokan
Schools International (D.S.S.I.). Karate and Kobudo utilize
many of the same stances, movements, tactics, and principles.

Kobudo
literally means "ancient martial way," and many of the
weapons of Kobudo are indeed ancient. The weapons used in
Okinawan Kobudo were mainly devised from agricultural tools, since
the use and ownership of weapons was prohibited in the fifteenth
century, along with the practice of all martial arts.
The resourceful Okinawans made very effective use of common
agricultural tools as deadly weapons, and practiced them as they did
karate, in secrecy, for hundreds of years until the late 1800's when
Japans feudal era ended and martial arts began to be practiced
publicly. Although the use of these weapons became highly
refined over several centuries, the art of karate was more common
and became more refined, organized, and systematized, particularly
in the nineteenth century, and by the time the veil of secrecy had
been lifted from martial arts practice in Okinawa, karate was much
more widely practiced. Unfortunately, the weapons arts of
Okinawa became less popular as karate became more and more
popular. In modern times, the use of weapons such as the
ones practiced in Kobudo, had little practical value for
self-defense purposes compared to the art of karate, and came to be
practiced more for the preservation of the arts, and the development
of mind, body, and spirit.

The Bo in Action

The D.S.S.I. kobudo system places great
emphasis on the use of the bo, an implement said to be derived from
the tenbib, which was a wooden staff that was slung across the
shoulders in order to transport buckets of water on each end. The
most popular type of bo is the rokushaku, which measures six feet in
length and 1 1/4 inches thick at the center, tapering down to 3/4
inch at the ends. Other types of bo range in length from four to
nine feet, and can be round (maru-bo), four-sided (kaku-bo),
six-sided (rokkaku-bo), or eight-sided (hakkakubo). The most common
bo kata are Choun-No-Kon, Sakugawa-No-Kon, and Tokumine-No-Kon.
Other staff-type weapons include the hanbo (threefoot wooden stick),
jo (four-foot wooden stick), tetsubo (Iron staff), sansetsu-kon
(three-sectioned staff), and the konsaibo, which is a wooden staff
studded with iron nubs.

Many traditional Okinawan kobudo
weapons were developed to defend against opponents wielding spears
or swords. Implements such as the sai, which is a three-pronged
metal truncheon, were often used in sets of two or three for the
purpose of entrapping an attacker's weapon and using the pronged
ends in a jabbing, puncturing strike. Although the exact origin of
the sai is obscure, it closely resembles an instrument that was used
in China, and is also believed to have been derived from a farming
implement that was used for digging furrows in the ground for
planting seeds. A third sai was often carried behind the back in the
belt sash (obi) as a replacement for a hand-held sai that was thrown
at an opponent. The nunti is a three-pronged weapon that is
sometimes incorrectly referred to as a manji-sai, with one of the
outside prongs facing in the opposite direction, toward the handle,
and which often attached to the end of a bo. Other truncheon weapons
are the juste and the tokushu-keibo, a collapsible metal instrument.

The nunchaku is a weapon
made from a horse bridle strap and a tool that was used to pound
grain or rice. The most common types of nunchaku have octagonal (hakkakukei)
or round (maru-gata) wooden handles of equal length connected by a
length of rope or chain.

Kama vs. Bo

Sickles that became useful weapons for
self-defense includes the kama, which has a curved blade, and the
naginata, a curved blade, sickle-like spear seven feet in length.
The nagemaki is a heavier version of the naginata with a larger
blade, while the rokushaku-kama is a sickle with a six foot handle.

Wooden implements played
an important role in the history of kobudo, and tools such as the
tonfa (tuifa, tounkwa), which were used as grist mill handles,
served as effective weapons. The eku (boat oar) was a popular item
in Okinawan fishing villages, and has a unique feature in allowing
the defender to fling sand in an attacker's face by holding the eku
straight up with the paddle end down, and kicking the bottom out in
a swift, forward and upward motion. There is also the abumi (wooden
saddle stirrup) and the tatsuko ("knuckle-duster") made
from yarn spindles.

Tonfa vs. Katana

Chizikanbo, made from wooden fish
floats, is another weapon that is attached to the hands to aid
punching effectiveness. The bokken, or wooden sword, was employed as
a training device, while the kendo practice sword made of bamboo
shoots (shinai) served as a conditioning implement.

Knife-like weapons that could be
concealed within clothing and easily produced when needed are the
kaiken (six- inch knife), juken (bayonet), and the tanto (dagger
with a blade measuring eight to sixteen inches in length). Another
device is the ninshokudai, or candles on an L-shaped, iron-spiked
holder that was said to be carried by Okinawan women.

Chains produced large, heavier weapons
such as the surushin (Manriki-gusari), which was weighted at one
end, and the gekigan (ball and chain). The chigiriki is a weapon
that has a three-to-ten-foot chain attached to an iron ball at one
end and a staff at the other end. The nagegama is a retractable
walking stick made from chain links.

Other items include the halberd, a
heavy, axe-like weapon with a coin-shaped blade. The naginata,
a sword-like weapon, similar to the European halberd or glaive.
The tekko is another form of "brass
knuckles," which is made of metal and studded. The tinbay (timbei,
tembe, timpei), which is a shield made from the shell of a giant sea
turtle, proved effective for repelling sword or spear attacks, and
was often used with the small dart-like weapon known as rochin.

Kobudo has become very popular among
practitioners of the major Okinawan karate styles, as it fits in
well with empty-hand arts and rounds out a student's martial
training. One of the traditional Okinawan principles concerns the
fact that kobudo is viewed as not only an art for self-defense, but
also serves as a means of obtaining and maintaining inner peace.